Narendra Modi going to Japan to meet Suzuki

New Delhi, Jul 21: Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi will leave for a five-day trip to Japan on Sunday to meet Suzuki chairman Osamu Suzuki and the head of its Indian unit  Shinzo Nakanishi at the company's headquarters in  Hamamatsu.





Modi's visit was prescheduled, but coming as it is in the wake of unprecedented violence in the Manesar plant of Suzuki, the meeting is being watched by India Inc with deep interest.

Though Suzuki has for now ruled out shifting its plant from Haryana to Gujarat, the Japanese auto major is watching events unfolding in Manesar with great trepidation.

Gujarat's minister of state for industries Saurabh Dalal dismissed reports of Gujarat trying to capitalize on Manesar violence as “far from truth” and “a figment of imagination”, Mail Today reported.

Dalal said,  Suzuki had decided to set up a plant in Gujarat long ago and it has no connection with the violence in Manesar.  “There is no truth in the news about shifting any disputed industrial unit in other state to Gujarat, either”, he said.

Gujarat's industry secretary Maheshwar Sahu said: “We do not want to harm anybody's interests. However, whosoever wants to come here and epand production capacity is welcome.”

Narendra Modi has virtually airlifted Tata's Nano plant from Singur to Sanand in Gujarat after a dramatic meeting with Ratan Tata in 2008. Other auto giants like Ford and Peugeot followed Tata into Gujarat and a few other majors are also scouting for land in Gujarat.

Last month, Maruti Suzuki signed an agreement with Gujarat government to invest Rs 4,000 crore to open a plant in Mehsana in two phases.  Gujarat government has already allotted 700 acres of land to the company.